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Richard Branson warns estate agents - keep a close eye on how new technologies or changing consumer habits could threaten future income streams.

Glenn Twiddle a former finance reporter , now one of the most successful real estate coaches from Australia, having already bought Arnold Schwarzenegger to Brisbane, early this year.Now,organising The premier realestate conference in Australasia and Oceania" Titans in real estate " [TOR].Glenn was a able to scoop another attendee, one of the most famous global business entrepreneurs.Mr Twiddle ,through his time journalism, previously interviewed British billionaire’s, entrepreneur/adventurer/philanthropist Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson KBE on the tarmac at Brisbane Airport before the debut of then Virgin Blue.At the conference held earlier this month ,one of the world’s great entrepreneurs warned estate agents that they could be digitally disrupted just as his business once was.Richard Branson told the TOR conference that his Virgin Megastore's were rendered obsolete by iTunes – but that the Virgin Group was able to survive because it had diversified into other fields, such as mobile phones.Agents must keep a close eye on how new technologies or changing consumer habits could threaten future income streams, according to Mr Branson.“As an estate agent, you need to think: ‘Is there anything that could happen to us that could really damage us? How much of a threat is the internet? How much of an advantage is it? If those people we’re putting lots of business on the internet for ever were to turn around and start taking lots of business direct, what would that do to our business?’” he said.Sales coach Aaron Sansoni, who also spoke at the conference, told attendees that they were naïve if they didn't believe the real estate industry was a prime target for disruption.

“Every year, your industry makes $6 billion of commissions in Australia alone – $6 billion. That’s how much you make between a buyer and a seller and just clipping a ticket,” he said.“It’s the only industry in the entire planet of that level of money made that has not had 100 per cent tech companies coming in and changing it and disrupting it – it’s the only one.”Mr Sansoni said the problem the industry faces is that many consumers have a low opinion about the ethics and skill of real estate agents, and so would consider cutting out the middleman and selling their home through an online alternative.“Even if [only] 10 per cent of your market smells an opportunity to save itself $15,000, that is $600 million gone,” he said.

Sir Richard Branson speaks about his entrepreneurial spirit ,British Airways trying to crushing start ups ,what made him what he is today.